hooper



(No Model?) L. M. 'HOOPER. CLOSET PULL ATTACHMENT.

No. 529,123. Patented Nov. 18, 1894.

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

LOUIS M. HOOPER, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE .T. L. MOTT IRON WORKS, OF NEWYORK, N. Y.

CLOS ET-P U LL ATTAC H MENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 529,123, dated November 13, 1894. Application filed February 8, 18 94- Serial No. 499,435- (No model.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LoUIs M. HOOPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rutherford, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improvement in Closet-Flushing Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

In water closets, especially those used in I factories and public buildings, it is desirable to insure the flush of the basin each time the closet is used; Automatic devices have heretofore been constructed in which the move-' ment of the seat has operated the valve of the cistern, and in some instances compound levers have been employed upon the bracket or leg supporting the seat plate, and in other instances a chain has passed down around a pulley upon the floor, the seat having a weight at the rear for partially elevating the same.

This invention may be used with any closet, but it is especially adapted to porcelain closets where a weight for elevating the seat would be liable to injure the porcelain and where a connection to a pulley upon the floor is objectionable as liable to get out of order and to interfere with cleanliness.

The object of the present improvement is to actuate the valve or valves of the cistern by a backward pressure exerted by the seat as the same is brought down to rest upon the closet, the lever that is connected with the cistern valve being pivoted ator upon the seat plate or place where the seat itself is hinged, so that the entire device for actuating the cistern valve is supported by the closet, and at the same time the seat is free to be raised up and swung back whenever desired without operating the valve in the cistern.

In the drawings, Figure l is an elevation of the actuating mechanism, the seat plate and a portion of the seat being represented in section. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the metallic portion of the valve actuating device. Fig. 3 is a section at the line w a: of Fig. 2. Fig.

4 shows a modification in the position of the.

parts that actuate. the cistern pull. Fig. 5 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 6 is an elevation of a slightly dilferent shape of actuating lever, and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same.

A portion of the closet bowl is represented at A'h'aving a rearward projection or shelf2 to which the seat plate B is connected by any suitable device such as the bolts 3, and the hinge O unites the seat plate B to the seat D. These parts do not form any portion of my invention but are introduced to show how my devices are applied. I

The rod or chain atE is to be extended up and connected with the lever in the supply cistern, and the cistern is to beef any desired construction so that the flushing of the closet is effected by a pull upon the rod E or by a pull upon the chain taking the place of the rod.

The valve connection E is made to the lever F that is pivoted at 4 to a plate G,preferably connected to the under side of the wooden seat plate B shown in Fig. 1, and this lever F is advantageously made tubular so that the rod 6 to which the valve connection E is connected may be moved out or in and clamped by the screw 7 so as to bring the end of the 'rod 6 and the valve connection E to the desired proximity to the wall, and the lever F is represented in Fig. l as bent at right angles and with the actuating bolt H connected with the bent end of the lever at 9, and such bolt H passes through the vertical portion of the plate Gand projectssufficiently to be acted upon by the back edge of the seat D, which back edge is preferably armed with a plate I that forms an unyielding surface to act upon the bolt.

It will now be understood that the parts are represented in Fig. l in their normal position with the seat partly raised,and as soon as the seat is depressed so as to rest on and be supported by the closet, the bolt H is forced backwardly, and by the bent lever F the valve oonnectionE is moved to actuate the valve or valves of the cistern, and when the seat D is liberated the parts reassume their normal position, and according to the character of the valve in the water closet cistern, so the water will be allowed to run and flush the closet when the seat is depressed or when it is allowed to rise; and I remark that the seat D can be swung up on the hinges O as usual to give free access to the closet bowl. It will be observed that in introducing this improvement, the wooden seat plate B is sutficiently recessed for the reception of the lever and the actuating parts thereof.

In Figs t and 5 the valve connection E and rod 6 are similar to those before described, but the lever F is nearly straight and pivoted at 14 to a plate upon the top of the seat plate 13, and the end of the lever F near the seat D is forked for the reception of one end of the bent lever K that is pivoted at 11 upon a plate or hearing connected with the seat plate B, such seat plate being recessed on its upper surface for the reception of the parts instead of the lower surface, and the bent lever K is acted upon by the downward movement of the seat D to actuate the valve connection Eleading to the cistern; and in Figs. 6 and 7 the valve connection E, rod 0 and tubular lever F are the same as shown in Fig. 4, but the forked end of such lever F is within a recess at the lower side of the seat plate B instead of the upper side, and a bent lever K is made use of for actuating the forked end of the lever F. This bent lever K is preferably pivoted upon the pin of the hinge 0, one leaf of such hinge C being connected to the seat D and the other leaf to the seat plate B, and the bent lever K is central between the knuckles of the hinge C and passes down into a recess excavated in the wood of the seat plate, and the back end of such bent lever K passes into the jaw at the end of the lever F, and when the seat is depressed the bent lever K moves the contiguous end of the lever F and actuates the valve connection E at the other end. It will be apparent that in all these instances the levers actuating the cistern pull are pivoted upon the seat plate and they are actuated by a backward thrust from the back edge of the seat, and the seat is free to be swung up or down in the usual manner and it is partially elevated when in the normal condition by the rod or chain E that is connected to the weighted lever in the closet cistern as usual. If the cistern is so constructed that the flushing is effected when the connection E is moved upwardly, the lever K, Fig. 6, may be extended back, as

shown by dotted lines, and the connection E attached directly thereto. These parts are simple and not liable to get out of order, and can be made more or less ornamental, and in the positions represented in Figs. 1 and 6, they are scarcely noticeable in consequence of being beneath the seat plate, and under all circumstances they can be made ornamental by plating or otherwise finishing them.

I do not limit myself to the use of the present attachment with a seat plate that is of wood, as the seat plate may be of metal or any other suitable material, and when a me tallic seat plate or hinge connection of the seat to the porcelain of the closet is made use of, the present device will usually be upon the surface of such metallic seat plate or connection, as represented in Fig. 5, instead of coming beneath the same.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination with the wire or chain extending to the cistern and by which the valve is actuated, of a lever, to the long end of which such wire or chain is connected, a pivot for the lever and a support for the same upon the water closet, the closet seat and a connection therefrom to the short end of the lever whereby the long back end of the lever is drawn down as the closet seat is pressed down upon the closet substantially as specified.

2. The combination with the wire or chain extending to the cistern and by which the valve is actuated, of a bent lever, to the long end of which such wire or chain is connected, a pivot for the lever and a support for the same upon the water closet, the closet seat and a bolt connected at one end to the short arm of the lever and acted upon at the other end by the seat whereby the long back end of the lever is drawn down as the closet seat is pressed down upon the closet, substantially as specified.

Signed by me this 31st day of January, 1894.

L. M. HO OPER.

lVitnesses:

Gso. T. PINOKNEY, A. M. OLIVER. 

